The morning after the Masquerade, Ava woke in Kai's bed. Not the suite she was usually escorted to—but his own.
Sunlight spilled through floor-to-ceiling windows. Silk sheets tangled around her legs, and Kai's scent lingered on her skin. For a moment, she didn't move. It felt too quiet, too intimate. As if they'd pressed pause on the world and all its complications.
But Ava knew better.
Kai was already gone.
She rose, slipping into his dress shirt, the only thing within reach. It smelled of spice and sin. On the dresser, she found a note in Kai's angular handwriting:
"Board meeting at nine. I'll send a car for you. Don't keep them waiting, love."
He was making her visible. No more hiding. No more games in the dark.
And that terrified her.
The car was black, sleek, and guarded by two suited men who didn't ask questions. As they drove, Ava stared out the window, wondering who she was becoming. A pawn. A lover. A spy. A queen in the making.
She was all of them.
At Kai Dominion Enterprises, she was led past glass walls and hushed conversations to the boardroom. Inside, twelve men and women in tailored power sat like judges at a tribunal. Kai stood at the head, arms folded, eyes on her.
He gestured to the seat beside him.
"Ms. Sinclair, welcome."
She sat.
Introductions were made, formalities exchanged, but Ava felt the tension under every breath. These people didn't trust her. Not yet.
Then came the twist.
Kai presented her as the new Director of Strategic Initiatives. A title that meant everything and nothing. A test of her ability to navigate corporate power the same way she'd learned to dominate in bed.
And that's when she saw him.
Lucien.
Sitting at the far end of the table, sunglasses on, smiling like the devil who knew where all your secrets lived.
"Didn't expect to see me here, Ava?" he said lightly.
Her jaw clenched. Kai remained expressionless.
"Lucien holds shares in one of our European subsidiaries," Kai explained smoothly. "He's earned his seat."
Ava's pulse raced. She was surrounded.
And Kai had known all along.
Later, in Kai's office, the silence was sharp.
"You used me," she hissed.
He raised an eyebrow. "And what were you doing with those files Lucien gave you? Decorating your bathroom?"
She turned away, furious.
"You don't own me, Kai."
He was behind her in seconds. "Then stop acting like you want me to."
His grip wasn't cruel, but it was possessive. Like he couldn't decide whether to kiss her or cage her.
"I trusted you," she whispered.
He spun her around, eyes burning. "And you still came. You still laid in my bed. So don't pretend your betrayal didn't feel good on your tongue."
His lips met hers—hard, desperate. And Ava hated that she kissed him back. That her nails dug into his arms. That she wanted him even as her mind screamed at her to run.
They didn't make love. They waged war on each other's bodies.
After, as she sat naked on the edge of his desk, her back arched from lingering ache, he said:
"If you're going to betray me, Ava, at least do it with style."
She looked over her shoulder.
"Who says I haven't already?"
That night, Ava met Lucien at a rooftop bar downtown. He ordered wine. She drank whiskey.
"He's falling for you," Lucien said casually.
"And you're waiting for me to destroy him."
"That was the deal."
Ava took a long sip, then turned to him.
"What if I want more than revenge?"
Lucien's eyes narrowed. "You better decide soon, Ava. Because you can't have both."
She looked out over the city, heart pounding.
Because she didn't know if she could break Kai anymore.
She didn't know if she wanted to.